Spanish Intonation



Grammar is important topic in all languages. Each language has its own rules such as Portuguese grammar rules; we will learn Intonation in Spanish now.

Definition:  The use of pitch or tone in a sentence to convey meaning or emotion. Thus a sentence such as "my mother is at home" (mi madre está en casa) would sound different and have a different meaning as a question ("My mother is at home?" or ¿Mi madre está en casa?) than it would as a statement, even though the words are the same.

It is an important grammar topic in all languages, because it helps us with the correct pronunciation of a foreign language. There are other languages which involves stress and rhythm.

Example: The following sentences have different sounds and different meanings.
  • Is my father cooking? ---> ¿Está mi papá cocinando?
  • My father is cooking ---> Mi papá está cocinando


Intonation in Spanish


Alphabet: Alphabet Pronunciation

Letter Spanish Name Spanish Example English Example
a a Papá Father
b be Barco Boat
c ce Carro Car
ch che Muchacho Change
d de Dado Detective
e e Escoba Egg
f efe Fabrica Factory
g ge Gorra Goverment
h hache Honra "h" is always silent
i i Policía Police
j jota Jarra Justice
k ka Kilo Kilometer
l ele Laguna Laundry
ll elle Llama  
m eme Marino Mother
n ene Nariz Nouse
ñ eñe Caña Canyon
o o Votar Vote
p pe Perú Peru
q cu Química Chemistry
r ere Paro  
s ese Sopa Soup
t te Texto Text
u u Unicornio boot
v uve Vendaje bandage
w Ve boble Washington Washington
x equis Excelente Excellent
y I griega Yuca Yucatan
z zeta Zorro an 's' sound, as in 'socks'

Stress rules in Spanish words.

  • The word will have a written accent ( ´ ) if finishes in “n”, “s” or a vowel.
    E.g. camión (truck), ratón (mouse), perdón (sorry).

  • If the stress is in the third last one or before, the word always has the written accent.
    E.g. ídolo (idol), cómpralo (buy it), teléfono (phone).

  • If the stress is in the syllable just before the last one the word will have a written accent ( ´ ) if does not finish in “n”, “s” or a vowel.
    E.g. cárcel (prison), cráter (crater), mártir (martyr).

Examples of Intonation and rhythm

Spanish Pronunciation English
Carlos entiende Car-los en-tien-de Carlos understands
tu escuela tu es-cue-la your school
lluvia y nieve llu-via y nie-ve rain and snow
¿tienes sueño? ¿tie-nes sue-ño? Do you dream?


Read more: Spanish Phrases for Meeting and Greeting



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